


Never that easy

by darkmoore



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Bonding, First Kiss, M/M, Major Character Injury, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 16:38:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5593357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkmoore/pseuds/darkmoore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny has Bond-Deprivation-Syndrome (BDS), a possibly fatal sickness that is the result of finding, but not bonding with his intended. When a mission goes wrong things almost prove to be too much for his already bad health. The team has to find Danny's intended and convince them to agree to bonding, or watch Danny die.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never that easy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Katlinn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katlinn/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Не бывает все так просто](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9502007) by [Luna44](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna44/pseuds/Luna44)



> This story gave me hard time. I hope you will still like it, Katlinn. Thanks goes to my beta. Couldn't have done it without you!

In all honesty, Danny couldn’t care less where they came from, these patterns that showed up on everyone’s skin two days after Grace’s fourth birthday. They were admittedly pretty, swirly or geometric patterns of color, like expertly inked tattoos. His and Rachel’s didn’t match; his tribal-like blue and green mark so different from the intricate magenta and purple curls that wrapped around her left wrist. The world went a little bit crazy, then, as scientists all over the world tried to figure out where the marks came from. Or what they did. If they could be removed. Were they going to harm anyone? Chaos reigned and conspiracy theorists had a field day.

Then the term ‘soulmate’ came up for the first time and Danny felt a sense of dread. His soul had been fine with Rachel and his little girl, thank you very much; he didn’t need a stupid mark to tell him who he fit with. But unfortunately things were rarely that easy. Soon enough there were international databases where one could enter a picture of their mark in order to find their match. Families broke up over the pair not being soulmates, and sometimes things went so far as children being abandoned because they were from a non-soulmate partnership. 

In no time terms like ‘soulmate’, ‘soulbond’ and ‘bond-deprivation syndrome’ were household words, and Danny had lost his wife and child to another man claiming his soulmate for bonding. Which Rachel happily agreed to. So no, Danny didn’t care where these marks came from – genetic experiments, evolution, aliens, pollen – the fact remained that they robbed him of his family and separated him from his daughter. 

And if that hadn’t been enough, fate, cruel bitch that she was, screwed him over again a couple of years later, when Steve McGarrett entered Danny’s life. Because nothing could ever be easy, he found himself faced with the fact that while he had finally found his bond mate, that didn’t mean happily ever after was in store for him. After all, that only applied to fairytales.

* * *

“Detective Williams, we need to adjust your medication. Your inflammatory markers are raised above the level I’m comfortable with. Your Leukocyte count is practically through the roof. Have you taken the cytostatics as directed?” Doctor Ulani looked up from the file he was holding and fixed Danny with a stern glare as if he knew he’d been neglecting the medication. 

“They made me feel sick, all right? I couldn’t work. And if I can’t work, my team will ask questions. Questions I can’t answer. So no. No, I’ve not taken those damn meds as directed.” Danny knew he shouldn’t snap at the doctor, but he just couldn’t help it. He felt exhausted and in pain, the throbbing burn of his mark a constant reminder of the shitty hand he’d been dealt by fate. 

In order to be near to his daughter he’d relocated to Hawaii, only to run into his bond mate. Who had decided to not bond, ever, for all the right reasons. Like, not putting his intended in danger. To keep from being made vulnerable by loving someone who could be used against him. To never have to deal with the pain of losing a bond mate, like his father had when his second wife died of cancer. Yes, Danny had to admit that he could understand Steve’s reasoning to stay unbonded for life. Steve even had told him that he would – once he found his intended – have a serious talk with them, and he was sure that his bond mate would understand that they just couldn’t be together. 

Well, Danny understood. And he was determined to never let Steve know they were intendeds. _Soulmates_ people liked to call it. It was ironic, really. Steve, who never wanted to bond and who saw the whole soulmate thing as something he could reason his way out of, didn’t get sick from bond-deprivation. But Danny, who only was on Hawaii to be near his daughter and couldn’t just leave her, he of course had to get sick. And the only true way to ‘cure’ bond-deprivation was considerable physical distance. 

“Detective Williams! Are you even listening to me?” The voice of the doctor brought Danny out of his musings. 

“I’m sorry. I was distracted. Could you please repeat that?” Danny asked sheepishly. He felt the repercussions of the denied bond more and more with each passing day. Soon he would be unable to work without getting away to a retreat for a few days. 

“I said that you need to take your medication meticulously, and you will need to cut down on your work schedule considerably within the next six weeks if you don’t want to collapse. I’ve managed to get you a spot in the Montana retreat in about four weeks. Considering your condition, a minimum stay of about three to four weeks is advised. BDS is a serious condition and should not be taken lightly. You should also reconsider talking to your intended and see if they could arrange a temporary leave of absence from Hawaii, or reconsider the bonding. Bringing down the symptoms of BDS with short bouts of physical contact won’t work much longer. At some point your immune system will be so compromised that you won’t be able to function. Cortisone, antibiotics, antihistamines and all the other medication we have been treating you with are only a temporary solution. We’re treating the symptoms, not the cause. I shouldn’t have to tell you this over and over again.” 

Danny sighed and tried not to flinch as he carefully wrapped the piece of protective black cling-tex around his forearm and over his sore, irritated mark. The latex-like protective sheet clung to his skin without aggravating it further or damaging the skin underneath in any way. It was a high-tech fiber, developed especially for the purpose of covering – and if necessary hiding – bond marks. And Danny knew he could never risk letting anyone but the doctor have a look at his. Steve’s mark had been on his left upper arm, and he’d had it covered up by a tattoo artist as soon as it emerged. No one had really ever gotten a good look at it, and rumor said that there were only two pictures of the uncovered mark in existence – one in his top secret SEAL file and one in Steve’s private possession.

Not that Danny had needed to see it. His strong reaction to their first touch – not unlike being zapped by an electric current – had left no doubts about them being intendeds. Steve of course was oblivious; he hadn’t had any reaction at all to their first touch and hadn’t developed BDS either. Danny still couldn’t risk it; he’d rather die than let Steve’s protective instincts get the best of him and demand they bond. 

“I’ll try to do better with the medication, and I’ll request time off for the trip to the retreat, but that’s all I can promise at the moment,” Danny finally said. “I’ve signed the necessary papers and should I become a risk out in the field, I’ll go on medical leave early. But until then my partner and my team need me. I need to have their backs. And my daughter needs me, too. She doesn’t know what’s wrong with me and wouldn’t understand. I don’t want to worry her. Can’t we try different drugs? Something that’s a little easier on my stomach?”

Doctor Ulani looked at Danny as if he had lost his mind. Probably not, then. 

“I just told you we need to adjust your medication. Did you think we were reducing it? You will need to take additional drugs, some of them with even more secondary effects than the ones you’re already supposed to be taking. I’ll add some medication to protect your stomach lining, and some anti-emetics. Please make sure to take them. Other than that, you’re free to go now. I’ll see you next week, don’t be late again.” 

And with that, Danny was dismissed.

* * *

The shit hit the fan four days later. It should have been easy enough. Follow the perps, gather enough evidence so the charges would stick, get backup if necessary, take out the drug dealers, wrap up the case. But between Steve driving like a madman, Danny feeling slightly queasy from the medication, Kono, Chin and half of HPD getting stuck behind a gigantic traffic accident, and the perps being somewhat ahead of schedule, things went horribly wrong. 

Steve charged in without waiting for backup, going all Super-SEAL on the supposedly unsuspecting drug dealers. The moment Danny realized it was all one huge trap was the same moment Steve grabbed him by his tac vest and pulled him backwards – just that little bit too late. 

The warehouse pretty much blew up in their faces, and Danny had a split-second to think ‘oh shit’ before his head connected with the concrete – hard – and everything went black.

* * *

Steve took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Danny would be fine. He just had to be. Although, in all honesty, this time Steve wasn’t so sure who he was trying to fool – Danny was pretty banged up. He’d taken the brunt of the explosion when Steve had tried to drag him backwards, his body between the sudden blast of fire and Steve’s own. They’d both gone down hard, but Danny had hit his head, and he’d gotten some really nasty burns. 

Steve was prepared for a concussion, maybe some bruised ribs and a few burns. But Danny had gone down and hadn’t gotten up again. He remained stubbornly unconscious, and the paramedics had packed him up and transported him to Queen’s Medical.

That there hadn’t been a word yet about his condition made Steve nervous, and he paced the length of the waiting area again, avoiding Chin’s and Kono’s gazes. Steve knew it was his fault that Danny was in the hospital. He’d gone running in like some hot-headed rookie, not waiting for backup and acting like the reckless idiot Danny had so often accused him of being. He’d come away with nothing but a few bruises and scrapes, while Danny was possibly still unconscious, or maybe even in surgery already. 

After what felt like an eternity, a doctor finally came towards them, face grim. Steve’s unease increased tenfold, his heart hammering wildly in his chest. He pulled himself together, working hard on appearing outwardly calm. It was what he’d been trained to do: to always be in control of his emotions and his reactions, to never show any sign of weakness. To never let emotions get in the way of the mission. And right now his mission was to appear calm and focused – for his own sake as much as for Kono’s and Chin’s. He was the boss. He had to be in charge. 

“Commander McGarrett? I’m Doctor Ulani, Detective Williams’ physician. You’re listed as his medical proxy in our files. I would like to discuss Detective Williams’ condition and treatment options with you. Please follow me to one of our counseling rooms.” He pointed to a glass door to their left through which Steve could see a small, empty room. The doctor glanced at Chin and Kono. “If you’d excuse us for a moment.”

“No, it’s all right, they can come. Whatever you want to say, you can say in front of them. Danny wouldn’t mind. We’re _ohana_. So please…” He looked at the doctor, hoping to sound confident when, for the first time in his adult life, he felt anything but. 

Doctor Ulani gave Steve a skeptical look, but said nothing more as he led them into the counseling room and shut the door firmly behind him. “At the moment, Detective Williams is heavily sedated to take some strain off of his body. He’s got a mild concussion and some second degree burns, which wouldn’t be much of a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that his body is already weakened by the BDS. I’ll be frank with you – if you can’t find his intended and get them to agree to an actual bond, I’m not sure Detective Williams will survive the week. His bloodwork doesn’t look good, and he’s way past the point where physical contact without bonding can stave off the effects of the BDS. In other words, for him it’s all or nothing now. I’m sorry.”

Steve stared at the doctor, open mouthed. Beside him Chin and Kono looked about as surprised and confused as Steve felt. This couldn’t be true. Surely there was some sort of mix-up. Danny would have told them had he found his intended. He would have told them if he’d gotten sick from not bonding, would he? He’d let them help. They were his family after all. 

“Hold on a sec,” Steve said. “I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding. Danny doesn’t have BDS. He never even mentioned that he met his intended. Are you sure we’re talking about the same person here? Because that doesn’t sound like our friend, at all.”

Except, it did. 

“I assure you, Commander McGarrett, there has been no misunderstanding. I have been treating Detective Williams for BDS for close to three years now. While his case may not be one of the most severe I’ve ever dealt with, it is in no way harmless or negligible. At first Detective Williams reacted well to the treatment, though a lot of that was due to the fact that he was having regular physical contact with his intended. He’s worked out some sort of deal with them, but made it perfectly clear they would not be available for bonding.”

Steve’s eyebrows rose at their own volition. Danny had had regular physical contact with someone and he didn’t know about it? When? Where? And why hadn’t Danny let them help? Surely they could have done something, anything to make the situation easier on him. And now he was hurt and might die. Steve’s mind refused to go there. The possibility of losing Danny was just too painful.

The doctor didn’t seem to be too pleased about the team’s obvious surprise and confusion, and understandably so. They had claimed to be his family but had missed a major, life changing event in his life. 

Doctor Ulani fixed Steve with a glare but carried on in a clinical tone. “It’s all been going surprisingly well, but even under the best circumstances there comes a point where physical contact without actually completing the bond is not enough. Detective Williams was scheduled to go to a retreat in a little over three weeks. I also advised him to cut back on his work hours until then and pay better attention to his medication. I take it this is all news to you?”

The doctor was definitely not happy, as if it were their fault that Danny had been so reticent. 

“Yeah, pretty much. None of us were aware that Danny even _had_ BDS until now.” Steve rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. He felt like someone had pulled the floor from under his feet. Danny, _his_ Danny, his best friend and partner, had kept something of that magnitude from them for literally years. It was incomprehensible. 

“He never talked about his intended to us,” Kono said. She looked devastated. 

“There has to be a reason why he didn’t say anything.” Chin voiced what Steve had been thinking. “Maybe his intended is someone he arrested. A convict. That would explain why they can’t just leave Hawaii, and why they might not be available for bonding.”

Steve’s stomach did an uncomfortable flip. He hoped that Chin was wrong. He didn’t want to go negotiate with some drug dealer or murderer so they would bond with Danny and save his life. But they couldn’t let Danny die from the BDS, either. 

“Detective Williams did not supply any information beyond the fact that his intended is not available for bonding. I suggested that he leave Hawaii to prevent the progression of the BDS, but Detective Williams was adamant about not leaving. He said his daughter, and his life, are here now. He stayed against my advice, and refused to give any more information about his intended, as is his right.” Doctor Ulani’s tone made it clear what he thought about Danny’s decision to stay in Hawaii and subject himself to the consequences of BDS. 

“Speculation won’t get us anywhere. We need to find a way to save Danny’s life. So if you would please take us to Danny now, Doctor.” Ulani was getting on Steve’s nerves with his attitude and his obvious disapproval of Danny’s decisions. “We need to see his mark and take a photo. Upload it into our databank and see if we find a match. There has to be a way to convince them to save Danny’s life.”

A frown appeared on Doctor Ulani’s face. “Forcing someone into a bond is illegal, and will be punished severely. Surely you know that you can do nothing illegal to coerce or otherwise manipulate Detective Williams’ intended into bonding with him, not even if it is the only thing that can save his life. That would be tantamount to sexual assault.”

“Yes, I’m aware of the laws regarding bonding, thank you very much,” Steve snapped and glared at Ulani. Kono’s hand landed on Steve’s arm, softly, and gave a gentle squeeze. It grounded him and he gave Kono a thankful smile. He knew he was skirting the edge of what was acceptable, and he didn’t need any complications right now if he wanted to save Danny. 

“Could you please take us to Danny now? We’d like to see him,” Steve said, taking great care to not sound hostile. Chances were that if he pissed off Ulani, he’d get in the way of saving Danny’s life by all means possible – and Steve was serious with the ‘all means’ part. 

Doctor Ulani‘s stern countenance didn’t soften, but he nodded. “Follow me,” he said.

* * *

Danny looked awful.

He was so pale his skin looked almost translucent, save for the blue-ish black shadows beneath his eyes and the cut on his right temple. His usually flawless hair looked tangled and was clotted with blood in some places, which strangely enough served to drive the point home just how bad off Danny really was – more even, than the breathing mask he was wearing. 

At the sight of the CVL that had been inserted near Danny’s right clavicle, Steve had to swallow hard. He didn’t want to imagine what kind of aggressive medication they were treating Danny with, to keep the BDS symptoms under control. No wonder his body wasn’t strong enough to recover from the concussion, and the burns Steve could see on Danny’s arms – with the exception of the spot here the cling-tex was still wrapped around Danny’s left forearm. The high-tech fiber had withstood the fire and left in place. There was no need to disturb the mark, which was probably sore and swollen, until it had to be uncovered so Steve could take a photo of it. 

Steve forced himself to stand still as Doctor Ulani stepped up to Danny’s bed. It felt intrusive and wrong to watch the doctor unwrap the mark that Danny had kept hidden from them all for as long as they knew him. Not everyone was open with their mark, particularly if they weren’t bonded, and showing it to someone was often a private, intimate moment. To now take that decision away from Danny made Steve uncomfortable, regardless of the circumstances. 

The second Steve got a first glance at Danny’s mark, it felt as if someone had gutted him. His head swam and his vision started to blur as bile rose in his throat. It couldn’t be. Danny hadn’t kept all of this to himself, had risked his health and his life …

Guilt slammed into Steve like a sledgehammer, followed by relief, anger, hurt and more guilt. He closed his eyes and took a slow, deliberate breath in the attempt to calm his racing heart and roiling stomach. This couldn’t be true. This had to be some sort of especially cruel nightmare or something. There was no way in hell Danny was his intended and hadn’t said a single word about it in all of this time. Instead he’d chosen to suffer in silence. 

Beside him Kono dug out her phone, ready to take a picture of Danny’s soulbond mark, but Steve stopped her by taking the phone. His fingers wrapped around it painfully, and he wasn’t surprised in the slightest to find his hand was shaking. One look at Danny’s mark had accomplished what countless SEAL-ops hadn’t: Steve was completely and utterly terrified. 

“Steve?” Kono asked, sounding confused. He gave her back her phone, and she stuffed it into her pocket, all the while giving him a worried look. 

“What’s going on?” Chin asked. “You okay?” He looked back and forth between Danny and Steve, and gave both of them assessing looks.

Steve took a deep breath and briefly clenched his jaw before he said, “We don’t need to upload the picture to the database. I know who Danny’s intended is.”

Shocked expressions all around, but Kono was the first one to recover from the surprise. “You know who it is? How? Where did you see this before?”

“It’s mine. My mark. He’s been my intended all along. God, this is all my fault. If I’d known that he was sick I’d never…” Steve trailed off, guilt weighing like lead in his stomach. He ignored the shocked intake of breath from Kono, and the disbelieving look Chin gave him, and straightened his spine. He could do this. He could take responsibility for this colossal fuck-up and save Danny’s life. 

His Danny. His intended. His soulmate. 

“I’m going to bond with him. Save his life. We can work out the rest later. He _will_ be okay, doc, right? If I bond with him? The BDS will go away and he will wake up and he’ll be okay.”

Ulani looked like he had swallowed something vile. “Yes, Detective Williams should regain consciousness and heal normally after bonding.” There was something disapproving in the doctor’s voice and it pissed Steve off. 

“Listen, all I want to do is save my friend’s life. So if you have something to say, say it now or shut up and let me do the whole … bonding thing.” Steve clenched his jaw tightly to not say anything else that would make Ulani even more irritable. But the way the doctor acted grated on his nerves. 

“I find it highly suspicious that you, his partner, would turn out to be Detective Williams’ intended. There has to be a reason why he reported that you are unavailable for bonding, when clearly right now you have no reservations against going through with this bonding. Are you an abusive man, Commander McGarrett? Is that why Detective Williams would rather stay unbonded and suffer in silence than approach you for bonding? Maybe the … freedom … the Governor chose to bestow upon you has gone to your head. Maybe you would have tried to force him into a bonding had you learned of your status as his intended before.”

Steve forced himself to stay where he was and take a deep breath. If he reacted violently towards the stupid doctor, he would only think his suspicions were correct. Beside him Kono shot Ulani a death glare and Chin balled his hands to fists at the outrageous suspicions the doctor was spouting. 

“Danny said I’m unavailable for bonding because that’s what I told him. When he first joined Five-0 we had a talk about intendeds and soulbonds. I told him that I had my mark tattooed over and that I would never willingly bond. That I would, should I ever find my intended, explain my reasons to them and work something out. I didn’t know Danny was my intended, or that he knew it when we had that conversation. I’m not sure how he knew, but he never spoke to me about BDS or bonding. I would have done anything in my power to spare him pain. And I don’t appreciate you questioning my integrity, Doctor Ulani. That’s defamation of character, at the very least.” Steve took a deep, steadying breath, glad that he had himself under control in such an emotional situation. 

“I merely have the best for my patient in mind. In fact, I’m considering waking up Detective Williams so he can give proper consent to this bonding.” 

“Like hell you are. He’s dying. You told us to get his intended to agree to a bonding. Well, I’m agreeing. Now go! I want to be alone with Danny. Bonding is private and I don’t want an audience.” Steve growled and grabbed the doctor’s arm. Ulani looked scandalized. 

“I will not –”

“Kono, Chin, get him out of here before I punch him in the face. You can get the paperwork started. I’ll take care of Danny.” 

Steve turned his back to Kono und Chin, who ushered the protesting doctor out of the room. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. He was about to bond with Danny. Bind himself to him for life, and while that should have been a terrifying thought – _would_ have been a terrifying thought if it had been anyone but Danny – it felt completely right and natural. Why hadn’t he seen it before? Why hadn’t he recognized the strong attraction towards Danny, the undeniable pull, for what it was? How could he have been so blind? 

Steve didn’t love easily. Some would say he didn’t love at all. He held back, compartmentalized. Shut his heart away behind so many walls and barriers that no one could come close. But Danny had found a way in. Danny with his rants and his flailing hands, his ties and those form-fitting pants that drove Steve crazy. 

And now Danny was all his. 

“You should have told me, Danny,” Steve whispered as he sat down carefully on the edge of Danny’s bed. “I’d never want to cause you pain, you must’ve known that.”

Steve’s gaze fell onto Danny’s swollen, sore mark again. The visible proof of the agony Danny must have been in for months on end. The thought made Steve’s chest tighten. They’d been so blind. All of them. How had they missed this? How had _he_ missed this?

Time to set things right. 

“You’re gonna be so pissed at me for doing this while you’re out cold, Danno,” Steve said as he lifted the breathing mask gently away from Danny’s face. “Our first kiss and you’re not even conscious.” He took a deep breath and leaned close to Danny’s still form. He so wished that this could have happened another way. With Danny happily agreeing and teasing Steve for procrastinating. 

“I love you, Danny. I’m _in love_ with you. Have been for a long time. I’ve just been too much of an idiot to tell you. I thought you’d never want me that way. I couldn’t have been more wrong. And if you weren’t such a noble, self-sacrificing ass, we could have done this a long time ago. Just so you know. Please don’t hate me.” 

Steve leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against Danny’s unresponsive lips. He cradled Danny’s head carefully in his hands, mindful of the cuts and bruises mottling his face. Steve licked his lips before he kissed Danny again, slipping his tongue into Danny’s mouth just the tiniest bit, tasting him. 

A tingle went through Steve, a warm rush of _something_. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling; it was unlike anything Steve had ever felt before. If he had to compare it to something, it would probably have been the feelings he’d had as a kid. It was butterfly kisses and being tucked into bed, safe in the knowledge of being loved unconditionally. It was Christmas tree lights and Mary wrapped around him like an octopus, sharing secrets in the dark. It was like finally being warm after too long in the cold.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get it,” Steve said, and took Danny’s left forearm into his hands. Slowly and carefully he gently placed his palm onto Danny’s swollen mark, eternally grateful Danny wasn’t awake to feel the pain it otherwise surely would have caused. Now that they were bonded the physical contact should help speed up the healing of the BDS-induced symptoms, and Danny’s mark should clear up shortly. At least Steve hoped it would. 

“That’s all I can do for you right now, babe. The bonding sex will have to wait till you’re not as banged up.” Steve hated how choked his voice sounded. “I’ll get a nurse so they can switch off those aggressive anti-BDS meds they’re pumping into you.” He glanced at the infusion pumps that were standing next to the heartbeat monitor and the respirator before he reached for the breathing mask and pulled it back over Danny’s mouth and nose. Soon he wouldn’t need it anymore, but for now it was better to be safe than sorry. 

Steve got up and pressed a gentle kiss to Danny’s forehead before he left the room to find a nurse – and Chin and Kono.

* * *

Danny had been in and out of consciousness for three days when things finally started to really change for the better and his condition started to rapidly improve. When Steve had left to get himself a coffee Danny had been fast asleep for a couple of hours – a natural sleep born from exhaustion rather than the drug induced coma he had been in previously. As Steve entered the room this time, Danny was awake, clear eyed and mostly aware, if still really tired. 

“Hey there,” Steve greeted with a smile, sitting down on the chair next to Danny’s bed. “Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?” 

Danny smiled at him slowly, like he needed to try out the feeling first. “I’m fine babe, thanks to you.” His voice was still sleep-roughened. “I didn’t think you wanted to bond with me or I would have told you that we’re intended. It was a stupid thing to do and I’m sorry. So, thanks for saving my life.”

“I didn’t just do it to save your life,” Steve clarified. He needed for Danny to know that the feelings he had for him had been there first. That it wasn’t the bond that made him love Danny.

“I know,” Danny surprised him by saying. “I heard you. I heard every single word, babe. I don’t hate you. And it’s not your fault you didn’t realize we’re intendeds. I really should have told you. The first time we touched, it was like grabbing a live wire to me. It almost hurt it was that intense. I just didn’t want to pressure you into anything you didn’t want. I guess I couldn’t believe you’d make an exception to your rule for me. Not that you are good at following rules. Ever.”

He sounded a little breathless, and looked a lot more insecure than Steve liked. But words were Danny’s forte, not Steve’s, so instead of trying to talk it out Steve opted for the more hands-on route. He leaned over and kissed Danny, putting everything he felt into that simple press of lips. 

It was so much better than Steve could have imagined. Danny’s mouth opened for him and soon things were getting heated. Reluctantly, Steve broke off the kiss. 

“As much as I’d love to make out with you hard and dirty, Danny, you’re still recovering _and_ hooked up to all of those monitors. How about you get better real quick and I’ll treat you to that bonding sex I promised you?” Steve grinned and waggled his eyebrows. 

Danny chuckled. “You got yourself a deal, babe.”


End file.
